


to dream, to hold close

by sebayard



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, Falling In Love, Getting Together, Hero Worship, Introspection, POV Kagami (Miraculous Ladybug), Pining, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-29 01:36:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13916568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sebayard/pseuds/sebayard
Summary: “It smells like cookies.”It smells like warmth,Kagami wants to say.It smells like sugar and love and like coming home.The passerby just shrugs. “I’m surprised you can smell anything with this city air, if you ask me,” he says as he walks away.Kagami looks up to see the girl in red swing away in the distance.Yes,she thinks, taking in a deep breath,it definitely smells like home to me.Kagami falls in love.





	to dream, to hold close

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I know Kagami's only shown up once in the series so far but I just fell in love with this ship. I appreciate you taking the time to read this little story. It means a lot to me, and I really hope you enjoy it!

The night after she was akumatized, Kagami dreams in blue.

It’s the blue of Japan’s oceans that she used to visit as a child; the blue of France’s sky on a spring day; the blue of her favorite bluebell flowers sitting in a delicate vase on her nightstand.

It’s the blue of the eyes behind the red mask. The blue that won’t leave her mind.

In her dream, the red-masked girl is smiling, corners of her eyes crinkled from her grin. She leans and whispers something in Kagami’s ear, something kind and sweet and Kagami is sure that if it hadn’t been a dream her cheeks would be red. She can imagine the heat flooding her face, making it as bright as the suit the girl wears.

In the end, Kagami wakes up with her heart racing, her face flush, and the feeling of ghost lips across her cheek.

 

* * *

 

She’s only known about her for a few days, and yet Kagami can feel Ladybug’s presence everywhere. Something about the air changes, when she’s around. The air smells a little sweeter, the sun warmer, the breeze gentler. Kagami wonders if anyone else notices these subtle changes or if it’s just her.

She asks a stranger about it one day, after Ladybug throws her lucky charm in the air, saving the city for the second time that week. “Do you smell that?”

“What?” The stranger asks.

“It smells like cookies.” _It smells like warmth,_ Kagami wants to say. _It smells like sugar and love and like coming home._

The passerby just shrugs. “I’m surprised you can smell anything with this city air, if you ask me,” he says as he walks away.

Kagami looks up to see the girl in red swing away in the distance. _Yes,_ she thinks, taking in a deep breath, _it definitely smells like home to me._

Later, long after the city has quieted down, a light rain cleansing the air, Kagami dreams of a fireplace, cookies in the oven, and a gentle, gloved hand covering her own.

 

* * *

 

It’s no surprise, really, that the next time Kagami is in trouble Ladybug is there. She barely has time to register the akuma flinging a car in her direction before she is being whisked away, strong arms holding her close. The familiar sweet fragrance she’s come to associate with Ladybug is strong, but with her being this close Kagami recognizes smells other than the generic aroma of magic and comfort. Hints of vanilla shampoo, mint, and sweat mix with sugar and chocolate to create a perfume that is so uniquely Ladybug.

The whole experience, while necessary, almost feels too intimate. Who is she, to be this close to Paris’s beloved hero? To know what it’s like to have her arms around her waist, to smell the shampoo in her hair, the mint on her breath? She does not deserve this, hasn’t earned this experience, and yet she holds onto it, hoards it selfishly. Kagami allows herself to feel the soft breeze as they fly away from the danger, the arm holding her up, the vanilla and mint wafting through the air.

The moment doesn’t last long, though. Before she can really register that it began, their journey ends and once again Ladybug stands up to part ways, leaving Kagami’s mind buzzing from adrenaline and sweetness.

The lady in red stands at the edge of the building’s roof, ready to run head first into the mess that Kagami inadvertently created, again. She seems to always be cleaning up after her messes, this girl.

Before she throws her yoyo, Ladybug turns back, blue eyes intense. “The akuma can’t get to you up here, but, be safe, okay Kagami?” She glances at the saber Kagami hadn’t realized she is still holding. “I have a feeling you can take care of yourself.” The girl smirks, throws her yoyo, and jumps out of sight.

Kagami’s stomach does a violent backflip.

Once the akuma is caught, once the chaos dies down and the city is cleansed of its mess, once Kagami makes amends with the person she offended, once she’s in her own bed, safe, she dreams of receiving soft hugs and gently brushing black hair into pigtails, the sweet smell of vanilla shampoo filling every space of her subconscious.

 

* * *

 

Her next dream is a nightmare.

There’s smoke and fire and too much screaming. The air no longer smells sweet but rancid. The sun is gone, the breeze is stale.

They’re saying Ladybug and Chat Noir have vanished. Gone, without a trace. The city is in ruins, razed to the ground, burning burning burning everything in site. Kagami runs but her feet take her nowhere, never moving forward. There’s a monster chasing her. She’s trying to escape, to run, but there’s too much fire and smoke and danger and the monster is so close behind and everything is falling apart and Kagami’s going to fail and-

She wakes up panting, cold sweat on her skin.

It had been a long time since she’s had a nightmare like that, and she knows there’s no use trying to sleep now, so she slips on a hoodie, some shoes, and heads out into the cool, night air.

It’s that time between waking and sleeping, not quite night but not quite morning. The sky is dark but the stars are just beginning to fade, the promise of a new day to come. Kagami is well acquainted with this time of day. It’s quiet, a good time for thinking. She makes her way through the empty streets, no real destination in mind, but she finds herself in her favorite spot in Paris anyway; a small bridge that crosses over an insignificant and inconveniently placed pond. It’s full of algae and has no real aesthetic appeal, but Kagami has always felt drawn to it. She stands at the bridge’s railing, staring at the dark green beneath her. She wonders if there’s any life down there, below the surface, thriving even beyond the prying eyes of the public. No demands to perform, no expectations, just living.

“Hey there.”

Ladybug’s sudden presence beside her is surprising and Kagami jumps, her heart skipping several beats, although, as she has come to realize, her now racing heart may be due to something other than surprise.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The girl looks at her and, even though it’s dark, Kagami can read the sincerity on her face, see her eyes sparkling in the dim lighting. She looks magical, like this. Ethereal.

“It’s, uh, it’s okay.” Kagami offers a small smile and hopes that the darkness hides her blush. “What are you doing here, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Chat and I do patrols. Not normally this late, but… I was awake so why not?” She shrugs, leans against the railing and looks out across the pond. “This spot, it’s nice, huh?”

Kagami hums softly in agreement, but it’s quiet, after that. Quiet, but far from uncomfortable. Ladybug’s presence is comforting, reassuring. For the first time in a long time, Kagami feels completely at ease. Like this, she has no expectations, no responsibilities. She just simply... _is_.

“Kagami,” Ladybug speaks, breaking the silence. Her voice sounds almost timid.“Do- do you feel… safe, here? In Paris, I mean?”

It’s not a question she expects, but Kagami doesn’t even have to think about her answer because it’s true. Her nightmares feel miles away. “With you here, I do.”

The blush that makes its way across Ladybug’s face can be seen even in the dark. She bites her lip before responding, contemplative. “That’s… thank you, Kagami, I really needed to hear that, tonight.” Her voice is back to its usual reassurance and Kagami’s heart melts.

They stand quietly a little longer, Kagami’s nightmares long forgotten, before she catches her head slipping out of her hands from dozing.

Ladybug laughs softly and takes her hand. She’s warm and gentle and her giggle reminds Kagami of springtime. “You should get to bed, Kagami, and so should I.” She moves from her spot against the railing and pulls out her yoyo. “Do you need a lift?”

“If- if you don’t mind…”

“Not at all, just hold on tight, okay?”

And then they’re flying, and once again Kagami is left wondering how she got this lucky. She lets herself take it in, relishes in the moment, and when Kagami is left on her porch with a peck on the cheek and a wave goodbye as the smell of freshly baked cookies drifts off into the distance, something sweet and soft and new settles in her chest.

That night, there are no nightmares, only kind eyes and soft laughter and a red blush to match Ladybug’s mask.

 

* * *

 

She’s having lunch with her new friend, Adrien, and Kagami knows she should be paying attention to their conversation, but her mind keeps wandering back to the night before. It felt like a dream. Perhaps it was; it certainly wouldn’t be the first one of its kind. But the image of Ladybug grabbing her hand, of her kissing her cheek, of her waving goodbye is too clear, too prevalent in her mind.

“Kagami?”

“Hm?”

“I was saying that you should hang out with me and my friends tomorrow. I’ll finally be able to properly introduce you to Marinette. You’ll love her, I know it.”

She shrugs, absent minded. “Okay, sounds fun.”

 

* * *

 

When she sees her, Kagami stops breathing.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Kagami. I’m Marinette.”

_Oh._

 

* * *

 

Marinette is kind. She is kind and sweet and funny and she smells like vanilla and mint and fresh baked cookies. Her eyes sparkle and her laugh shakes Kagami’s world.

Kagami knows the truth before she even shakes her hand.

 

* * *

 

Her dreams shift, that night, if only a little. Instead of a girl in a mask Kagami sees a girl in pigtails dressed head to toe in pink. She sees the way her eyes crinkle when she smiles, she sees her hands and how they look folded into her own. She sees a friend with a name and a face and a story.

Some things are different, after she meets Marinette.

(In the morning, she wakes up with the feeling of ghost lips on her cheek, and Kagami smiles.)

But not everything.

 

* * *

 

Falling in love, Kagami decides, is a complicated process. It’s hard, messy, elaborate, complex.

That doesn’t make it any less amazing.

Marinette makes it easy, really. Kagami feels spoiled in that regard. Loving her is like breathing, constant and life-giving, and when she asks Kagami out on a date for the first time, Kagami says yes without a second thought.

It was the best decision she ever made.

Marinette looks at her now, her blue eyes sparkling and cheeks beet red, and leans in for a kiss that Kagami is more than willing to give.

It’s like a dream.

(“I love you,” Kagami says, honest, sincere.)

(Marinette smiles. “I love you, too, Kagami.”)

But only better.

**Author's Note:**

> <3 
> 
> Kudos, comments, and bookmarks are loved greatly.
> 
> As usual, you can come talk to me about anything I've written or fandoms or whatever at my tumblr [sebayard.](http://sebayard.tumblr.com/)


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